SU receives records worth $1 million

The late Morton J. "Morty" Savada, owner of "Records Revisited," a Manhattan record store has donated 200,000 the records to Syracuse University. These are some of the 78 rpm records in the collection.

A collection of about 200,000 record albums has been donated to Syracuse University, boosting its collection of 78-rpm records to about 400,000 -- second in the United States only to the Library of Congress collection.

The records are the entire inventory of "Records Revisited," a Manhattan record store owned by the late Morton J. "Morty" Savada.

Savada wanted the records -- valued at about $1 million -- donated to SU Library's Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive.

"I was glad that someone was going to really appreciate it," said Savada's son, Elias.

Morton Savada, 85, had been diagnosed with lung cancer and died Feb 11.

He was familiar with SU's audio laboratory and archive and its staff from meetings of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections.

He also had a link to the university through his granddaughter, Shira Savada, Elias Savada's daughter, who graduated from SU in 2005.

Savada's collection includes recordings from 1895 to the 1950s and has genres such as big band, jazz, country, blues, gospel, polka, folk, Broadway, Hawaiian and Latin. It also contains spoken-word, comedy, broadcast recordings, and V-disks, which were distributed as entertainment to the U.S. military during World War II.

"We're very excited to learn more about the gems that are in there," said Melinda Dermody, head of arts and humanities services for the SU Library.

The collection is packed into 1,300 boxes and will be transported to SU next week by six 20-foot-long FedEx trucks.

The records are thicker and heavier than the 33-rpm albums many people stored in their basement or attic when cassette tapes and then compact discs came along. The 10-inch, 78-rpm albums have one song to a side, and the lightest albums weigh about one-half pound each. Savada's collection is estimated to weigh about 50 tons total.

Savada took over his father's shirt business, Savada Bros., in the 1950s and ran it until opening the record store in 1977.

But Savada's record collecting started well before he opened the store -- he began collecting 78-rpms in 1937.

Savada loved music, especially big band, Elias Savada said. He remembers his father tinkering with the piano, playing songs by ear. When the family watched "Name That Tune," Morton Savada would get the jump on everyone, as long as it wasn't rock music, Elias Savada said.

"We always marveled if it was two tones, he could figure it out. It was all up in his head," Savada said.

SU officials don't know exactly what they have waiting in the tons of boxes down in New York, but they do know of Savada's reputation as a collector and the reputation of the collection itself.

Savada would often bring collectors together at his shop, where the narrow aisles were flanked floor to ceiling with shelving holding his records. The shop also had a desk, a turntable
and the complete index of the collection written on cards, Savada said.

The shop was a frequent stop not only for collectors but for people in the film and music industries.

Elias Savada said actor/director Woody Allen used his father's recordings in his movies, and actor/director Matt Dillon also frequented the shop. Dillon sent Elias Savada an e-mail after he heard of Morton Savada's death.

Savada's connections even landed him a part in the 1999 Woody Allen movie "Sweet and Lowdown," which starred Sean Penn and Uma Thurman. The movie was about a jazz musician and Savada had a role as a jazz expert, Elias Savada said. His appearance ended up on the cutting-room floor, but Morton Savada continued to receive annual checks from the Screen Actors Guild for his part, Elias Savada said. Last year, he received a check for five cents, Savada said.

Dermody said SU is excited about the donation and the ways it will be used by SU students and faculty. Those researching musicology, history, filmmaking, journalism and political science will all benefit by being able to hear the recordings.

"To have these recordings is a huge, wonderful addition," Dermody said.